Learning to Drive

Learning to Drive

By Nero

My experience with driving has always been very simple. I lived away from home and only drove on occasion when I travelled back to see my parents. I decided to move back home to save money and cut costs – ugh student life. With school being so far away, and transit not being a viable option, I was thrust into a full time driving responsibility. I never needed to know about gas prices, car maintenance or any intermediate driver knowledge. I was happy taking the car to the movies on the odd weekend without a care in the world.

Once I started using the car on a full time basis, there were a multitude of things that came up that I didn’t really understand as well as things I was so thankful that I received before. While it was daunting to start, I realized a regular commuter needed to have small but very important things like a good night’s rest. Being alert and responsible, and accountable while driving is one of the main epiphanies I had. It’s easy to neglect these rules when you’re a sporadic driver but it is still vital. I am so thankful that my parents invested so much time in making sure I was comfortable behind the wheel in all sorts of situations including, different weather conditions, night driving, and highway driving. I received about 150 hours of road experience in these various road conditions before I was able to even drive alone. While these were disheartening words as a young teen, I am forever grateful and thankful that I got that much practice as it is probably what has kept me alive.